Egg carton

ABSTRACT

A molded egg carton is disclosed having the central portion of its cover of a transparent material with the remainder of the carton being of an opaque material that has better loadsupporting and egg protecting qualities than the transparent material.

0 1 11110 States Patent 1 1 3,779,370 Show et a1. Dec. 18, 1973 [54] EGG CARTON 2,226,089 12/1940 Anthony et a1. 206 4531 3,362,605 1/1968 Bixler 1. 229/2.5 [75] Inventors: Snow Cumberland 3,192,050 6/1965 Almquist.... 229/25 x Fofeslde; Harold Dflughy, Cape 2,294,473 9/1942 Make1ey..... 206/4531 ux Elizabeth, both of Mame 1,206,860 12/1916 Kopf 206/4531 ux 3,533,501 10/1970 Dorsett 206/4531 UX [73] Assgnee: Umted f' syndlcate 3,568,914 3/1971 Ahlmeyer 229/44 R Portland, Mame [22] Filed: Feb. 25, 1972 Primary ExaminerSamue1 B. Rothberg Assistant ExaminerSteven E. Lipman [2H Appl- NO" 229,299 Attorney-Abbott Spear [52] US. Cl 206/4531, 206/4534, 206/2.5 [51] 1nt..Cl B6501 1/36, B65d 25/54 [57] ABSTRACT 58 Field of Search 206/4531, 45.34; A molded egg carton is disclosed having the central 229/25 44 R portion of its cover of a transparent material with the remainder of the carton being of an opaque material 5 References Cited that has better load-supporting and egg protecting UNITED STATES PATENTS qualities than the transparent material.

3,034,693 5/1962 Cox 2229/25 3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIENIEU DEC 18 '97s sum 1 or 2 PATENTEDUEB 1 8 197a SHEET 2 [IF 2 EGG CARTON BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Molded pulp and thermoformed plastic cartons have in general, been satisfactory in the marketing of fragile articles of which eggs are the most common example.

One frequently noted objection to egg cartons has been that the shopper must open them to see their contents. As a consequence, two types of cartons have been proposed of which one had the carton covers formed with openings in each of which a portion of an egg was to be exposed. See U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,327,918 and No. 3,362,605.

The second type of proposed carton had either its cover formed of a clear plastic or was entirely molded from such a plastic. See U.S. Pat. No. 3,258,187. While the second type is theoretically the more desirable, clear plastics that are economically feasible for use in thermoforming disposable cartons do not have sufficient strength to protect the eggs if the cartons are stacked or otherwise subjected to such weights as are encountered when the cartons are bagged with other products which a shopper has purchased.

THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention has for its objective the provision of a carton, particularly an egg carton, combining, in its cover, strength affording full protection of its contents and a window arrangement making the contents clearly visible to the purchaser.

In accordance with the invention, this general objective is attained by providing a carton comprising an article receiving and supporting bottom and a molded cover of the type having side, end, and top walls. The cover may have a hinged connection between one of its sides and the bottom of the carton and the other side detachably attached thereto when the carton is closed or the cover may be separate with both of its sides attachable to the bottom. In either case, at least the sides of the cover are supported by the bottom when the carton is closed and the cover has a transparent section extending from end-to-end thereof between its side walls enabling the customer to examine the contents without opening the carton. The remainder of the cover is of an opaque material that is sufficiently strong to prevent the cover from being crushed during normal use of the carton.

THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION In the accompanying drawings, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention of which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of a sheet of material for use in simultaneously forming two cartons;

FIG. 2 is a section, on an increase in scale, taken approximately along the indicated lines 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section made from such a sheet taken transversely of a carton cover;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a closed egg carton in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the opened carton;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the closed carton and FIG. 7 is a section taken approximately along the indicated lines 77 of FIG. 1.

Referring first to FIG. 3, a cover of a carton is shown as having side walls, end walls, and a top wall, generally indicated at 10, 11, and 12, respectively. The top wall 12 and the portion 11A of the end walls in alignment therewith are of a clear plastic and the side walls 10 and the remainder of the end walls of corners are of an opaque plastic of substantially greater thickness and load-supporting strength than the clear plastic portions of the cover.

The carton cover is herein disclosed as that of an egg carton which may be otherwise generally similar to that shown in U.S. Letters Pat. No. 3,458,108 and formed from materials that enable them to be produced from a rolled sheet thereof in a thermoformer such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,074, for example.

The bottom of such a carton has two rows of egg receiving cells or pockets 13 with a central series of posts 14, each common to four cells 13 and end posts 15 in alignment therewith. It will be noted that the margins 16 of the carton bottom provide a supporting shelf. The cover is integrally connected by a hinge 17 to one side of the carton bottom and a generally indicated locking flap 18 is integrally connected to its other side by a hinge 19 enabling the locking flap 18 to be swung upwardly and inwardly to be within the cover with its locking projections 20 extending outwardly through holes 21 in the front side wall 10 of the cover.

It will be noted that the front side wall 10 of the cover is formed with a series of outwardly projecting stiffening projections 22 that provide internal lengthwise shoulders 23 engageable, when the carton is closed, by the upper edges of mating outwardly disposed, stiffening projections 24 with which the locking flap I8 is provided. The upper edges of the projections 24 engage the shoulder 23 to brace the front side wall 10 of the cover. It will also be noted that the rear side wall has longitudinally spaced, inwardly disposed projections 25 which stiffen it and seat against the subjacent portion of the shelf 16 and that the cover has marginal shelfengaging portions 26. The cover is formed with a pair of lengthwise aligned, inwardly disposed channels establishing supporting ribs 27 engageable with the posts 14 when the carton is closed.

In order that such a carton can be formed with the cover feature first discussed, the sheet S, see FIGS. 1 and 2, is formed with a central section 28 of opaque material of sufficient width to enable the bottoms of two cartons to be formed therefrom together with the side walls of the covers that are hinged thereto, marginal portions 29 each of a width such that the other side wall 10 of a cover can be formed therefrom, and intermediate sections 30 each of a width enabling the cover wall 12 and the end wall portions 11A to be formed therefrom.

In practice, the sections 28 and 29 are foamed polystyrene or other foamed plastic material capable of being thermoformed and typically in the order of 0.080 of an inch in thickness in the production of egg cartons. The sections 30 are of oriented polystyrene or other clear plastic capable of being thermoformed and typically in the order of 0.010 of an inch in thickness. The overlapping margins are bonded together in any desired manner, thermally, chemically, or by a suitable adhesive.

It will be noted that in the preferred construction the marginal portions of the sides 10 define the shoulders of the cover with the overlap of the clear plastic extending a substantial distance downwardly along their interiors. In the course of the thermoforming operation, the outer surfacesof the top wall 12 and the end wall portions 1 1A are brought flush with the margins of the opaque material. See FIGS. 2 and 3.

It will be appreciated that carton covers in accordance with the invention are of adequate strength to enable the cartons to be conventionally stacked or otherwise conventionally used without danger of their covers collapsing.

We claim:

1. A carton comprising an article receiving and and supporting bottom including marginal load-supporting portions, and a load-supporting, molded cover including end, side, and top walls, said side and end walls including marginal supporting portions for engagement with corresponding supporting portions of the bottom, said side walls both being connected to said bottom when the carton is closed, corresponding cover and bottom supporting sections then being in engagement, and said cover including a central section and two side sections, all of said sections extending from end-to-end of said cover, said central section being ofa transparent thermoplastic material of such thickness that it is incapable of supporting said load and of such width that its side margins extend to and are bonded to the side sections at and below their upper margins, said central section being a continuous transparent strip extending throughout the length of the top and end wall of the molded cover, said side sections being of an opaque thermoformable plastic of sufficient thickness and strength to be capable of supporting said load and having their upper and end margins curved towards each other to provide edge portions substantially in the same plane but so spaced from each other that substantially all of the top and end walls of the cover are a window, said central section also including at least one integral lengthwise centrally located channel, and said bottom including a support engageable by the bottom of the channel when the carton is closed.

2. The carton of claim 1 in which the thickness of the central section is in the order of 0.010 of an inch and the thickness of the side sections is in the order of 0.080 of an inch in thickness.

3. The carton of claim 1 in which the side margins of the central section are bonded to the inner surfaces of the side sections and the outer surfaces of the central section are flush with the upper and end margins of the side sections. 

1. A carton comprising an article receiving and and supporting bottom including marginal load-supporting portions, and a loadsupporting, molded cover including end, side, and top walls, said side and end walls including marginal supporting portions for engagement with corresponding supporting portions of the bottom, said side walls both being connected to said bottom when the carton is closed, corresponding cover and bottom supporting sections then being in engagement, and said cover including a central section and two side sections, all of said sections extending from end-to-end of said cover, said central section being of a transparent thermoplastic material of such thickness that it is incapable of supporting said load and of such width that its side margins extend to and are bonded to the side sections at and below their upper margins, said central section being a continuous transparent strip extending throughout the length of the top and end wall of the molded cover, said side sections being of an opaque thermoformable plastic of sufficient thickness and strength to be capable of supporting said load and having their upper and end margins curved towards each other to provide edge portions substantially in the same plane but so spaced from each other that substantially all of the top and end walls of the cover are a window, said central section also including at least one integral lengthwise centrally located channel, and said bottom including a support engageable by the bottom of the channel when the carton is closed.
 2. The carton of claim 1 in which the thickness of the central section is in the order of 0.010 of an inch and the thickness of the side sections is in the order of 0.080 of an inch in thickness.
 3. The carton of claim 1 in which the side margins of the central section are bonded to the inner surfaces of the side sections and the outer surfaces of the central section are flush with the upper and end margins of the side sections. 